NAMPA, Idaho — The Nampa School Board of Trustees made the decision earlier this month to keep Central operating as an elementary school. This building has a long history in the city of Nampa as a community center.
- Formerly a junior high school, Central hosted weekly dances and events
- One of the largest spaces at the time, Central was a community gathering center
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
Central School and Central Assembly Buildings have played an important role in the center of Nampa since they were built in the 1930s.
Previously a junior high school, Central has hosted concerts, NNU basketball games before their own gym was built, and weekly dances.
"During one of the noon dances, I believe it was November 22, 1963, we were in the dance and they came on and announced that President Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas, Texas," explains long-time Nampa resident Ed Schiller.
Ed, his kids, and even his mother all went to Central School in its various iterations.
He's seen the school and the city change through the years. Before the gym opening at Nampa High School, the Central Assembly building was the primary gathering space for the community.
"It was really the assembly building in town that could hold a fairly good-sized crowd," continued Schiller.
A largely forgotten building, Kenwood School, played a role in the community as well. Central Junior High did not have a lunch room, as Ed explains it, so students would walk to the nearby Kenwood for lunch.
A community staple for almost 100 years, and as it turns out, more to come.
